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Business Insider: Taco Bell is one of the best options for finding healthy fast-food

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X

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
http://www.businessinsider.com/taco-bell-as-a-healthy-fast-food-chain-2016-2

Taco Bell has subtly become one of the healthiest fast-food chains
Kate Taylor
2/24/2016

Can a chain best known for fried, cheesy, Doritos-filled offerings also be a go-to for healthy food?

According to Taco Bell’s dietitian and product developer, Missy Nelson, the fast-food chain already is.

Nelson began working at Taco Bell more than four years ago. During that time, Taco Bell has pledged to cut artificial ingredients and switch to cage-free eggs. The brand has debuted the lower-calorie Fresco menu, the high-protein Cantina menu, and a vegetarian menu certified by the American Vegetarian Association. Across all offerings, there has been a 15% reduction in sodium.

In the same time frame, the taco chain has also premiered the Doritos Locos Taco, the Waffle Taco, and, most recently, the uber-cheesy Quesalupa.

Clearly, nutrition-savvy advances can coexist with products that few would put on their diet plans. In my own personal experience, after a week of eating nothing but fast food, Taco Bell was one of the best chains around to find healthy options.

Taco Bell's game plan for growing healthy options while releasing craveable hits is simple.

"We just really encourage people to customize to however it fits their lifestyle," says Nelson.

From top to bottom, Taco Bell, especially in its online and mobile ordering platforms, has been subtly organized to promote this sense of choice — whether that be the choice to pig out or the decision to eat healthy.
Click to expand...

By positioning its nutrition strategy around "choice," Taco Bell gets to keep less-than-healthy options on the menu. It also frees the chain of the need to directly compete with health-obsessed fast-casual chains like Chipotle when it comes to nutrition.

"Us touting ourselves as a health halo — it’s not authentic and it’s not real," says Taco Bell spokesperson Alec Boyle.

Instead of running ad campaigns focused on health and freshness, the company prefers to make nutritional information available to those who want to make healthier choices. That ranges from providing online FAQs for customers searching for the best way to eat healthy at Taco Bell to having more in-depth conversations with "influencers" who are interested in the topic.

Nelson has led the chain in making some changes that affect the entire menu, such as the move toward cutting sodium and simplifying ingredients.

Overall, however, at Taco Bell, the onus is on customers to be healthy. The fast-food chain has provided taco lovers with surprisingly useful nutrition tools — now, they just have to use them.
Click to expand...
 
I

Inferno313

Banned
My girlfriend doesn't eat meat, so Taco Bell has become our fast food restaurant of choice. She can eat almost anything on the menu by substituting beans for meat. They seem to offer a lot of variety not matched by other fast food joints, plus it's all so good.
 
R

rjinaz

Member
Bean burritos fresco style are my go to if I need to grab something quick while dieting. Green sauce packets are a must.
 
F

Fox318

Member
MHlSHLw.jpg
 
C

Calderc

Member
A 'dietician' is an absolutely meaningless term. It's not a thing, and there's no studying or degree involved. It's a fake nutritionist, basically.
 
R

RumblingRosco

Member
Calderc said:
A 'dietician' is an absolutely meaningless term. It's not a thing, and there's no studying or degree involved. It's a fake nutritionist, basically.
Click to expand...

You've got that backwards, mate. A dietitian should be a licensed professional which requires a bachelor's degree and an additional dietetics internship (and in many cases these people will also have a masters degree). Then, they have to maintain continuing education to not lose their registered dietitian status.

In other news, I love Taco Bell. Basically, you can eat relatively-healthy there if you replace the beef for beans, order off the Cantina menu, and/or get your food fresco-style. Keep in mind, this is just less unhealthy than your average fast food junk, I'm not suggesting you got HAM on Taco Bell.

Personal favorites: beefy 5-layer burritos substituting beans in-place of the beef, get it grilled, and add Fire sauce. I also like the quesalupa substituting beans in-place of the beef. I just love beans though in general, like, more than I like beef, so it has more to do with the flavor than health reasons when I do these substitutions.
 
D

DrGonzo615

Banned
Their fresco steak tacos were actually very good and Ive had their cantina bowls and they arent too shabby for being <500 calories.
 
R

rjinaz

Member
Bubba T said:
The fact that Taco Bell is the "healthiest" fast food around lets you know how terrible fast food is for you.
Click to expand...

Well yeah because healthy options are virtually non-existent with fastfood. I mean McD has the grilled chicken I guess, which is not worth the price of admission, it's not a good sandwich afaic. They have salads as well but throw bacon, cheese, and what not on them and their dressings are fattening and the ones that aren't taste like flavored water.

I really wish there was a popular fast-food chain for healthy eating specifically.
 
A

A Fish Aficionado

I am going to make it through this year if it kills me
Calderc said:
A 'dietician' is an absolutely meaningless term. It's not a thing, and there's no studying or degree involved. It's a fake nutritionist, basically.
Click to expand...
A dietician is registered and licensed by board.

It doesn't preclude them from being biased or a corporate stooge. Look at corporate sponsorship of dietician conferences.
 
A

AstroNut325

Member
Calderc said:
A 'dietician' is an absolutely meaningless term. It's not a thing, and there's no studying or degree involved. It's a fake nutritionist, basically.
Click to expand...
False. It is a thing. There is studying and degrees involved along with required certifications to enter the field.
 
Z

ZackieChan

Member
Calderc said:
A 'dietician' is an absolutely meaningless term. It's not a thing, and there's no studying or degree involved. It's a fake nutritionist, basically.
Click to expand...

Uh, my mother is a registered dietician with a masters in public health. I believe you are talking out of your ass.

Also, Taco Bell is delicious, and there are actual healthy options there. Your move, Del Taco.
 
C

Calderc

Member
AstroNut325 said:
False. It is a thing. There is studying and degrees involved along with required certifications to enter the field.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I got them ass backwards. The word 'dietician' just makes me think of the absolute fraud that is Gillian McKeith and my blood starts to boil.
 
H

Himynameischris

Member
Yeah Taco Bell is good when you want to eat healthy but I prefer Pollo Loco (don't know how far they extend out of So Cal) in any case they both have far better taste than anything you can get at subway
 
A

Ashodin

Member
I mean it makes sense. Every time I've had food there it hasn't really affected my weight at all lately. It's all about moderation.
 
R

RumblingRosco

Member
B

Barack Lesnar

Banned
Soka said:
You've got that backwards, mate. A dietitian should be a licensed professional which requires a bachelor's degree and an additional dietetics internship (and in many cases these people will also have a masters degree). Then, they have to maintain continuing education to not lose their registered dietitian status.

In other news, I love Taco Bell. Basically, you can eat relatively-healthy there if you replace the beef for beans, order off the Cantina menu, and/or get your food fresco-style. Keep in mind, this is just less unhealthy than your average fast food junk, I'm not suggesting you got HAM on Taco Bell.

Personal favorites: beefy 5-layer burritos substituting beans in-place of the beef, get it grilled, and add Fire sauce. I also like the quesalupa substituting beans in-place of the beef. I just love beans though in general, like, more than I like beef, so it has more to do with the flavor than health reasons when I do these substitutions.
Click to expand...
Substituting the beef would be a killer for me. What's fresco...just without the cheese right? A plain crunchy taco with lettuce and salsa is only ~150 cals. I buy 5 or 6 of them at a time and have a nice dinner.
 
K

Kyuur

Member
cut artificial ingredients and switch to cage-free eggs.
Click to expand...

This doesn't make your food healthy, but let's throw it in anyways for good PR right.

Props for the small sodium reduction though I guess?
 
S

Squalor

Junior Member
Ashodin said:
I also have good cholesterol and sodium levels, what's your point?
Click to expand...
You're adding this after the fact.

That ret-conned information is also irrelevant to Taco Bell's foods' nutrition.

Try again when you can formulate an actual point of discussion.
 
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